Electrical connectors and, in particular, those used for the connection of a conductor to the face of a bus bar have been used in industry. The electrical connection between conducting wires and the bus bars of a panel board for example utilizes several systems. One approach has been to drill and tap holes in the copper or aluminum bus bars and attach suitable terminal lugs in the bus bars by means of bolts passing through the lugs into the tapped holes. The lugs may be crimped to the bare conductor wire. Where the hole is not tapped, nut, bolt and washer assemblies are required. The connection is of course not adjustable and is limited to the position of the hole or holes.
In switch board low voltage connections of wire (stranded or solid) on copper bars not using bar holes, two general types of connectors have been developed. One, shaped like a letter G fits on a bar edge. The top includes a clamp screw which drives a blade against the bare conductor clamping it to the edge of the bar face. While this type of connector can be added after bar assembly and positioned substantially anywhere along the bar, it suffers several drawbacks. One drawback in that it can be overtightened. This causes the clip to open. The opening results from the torque applied on the screw and the reaction along a single edge of the bar. Opening may result in clip failure or looseness. It would be desirable if the torque reaction could be at both edges and generally symmetrical to both edges.
The other type of connector has rectangular openings in both legs and requires to be threaded on the end of a bar before assembly on the insulators. If a modification is required or even one additional connector wire is needed, the bar and possibly the connections may have to be dismantled and then reconnected, which takes time and care.
It would accordingly be desirable to have a snap-on clip which would grip both edges of the bar and position the clamp screw generally in the center of the bar. It would also be desirable to have a clip which would be generally symmetrical of the bar edges and which can be placed at any location along the bar length, all without disassembling the bar or other connections. It would also be desirable to have a clip of exceptional strength and rigidity not subject to distortions, overtightenings or openings.